October 1, 2010

Today we need to again discuss email and Internet surfing practices.  Lately there have been ever more traps people are falling into.  Remember, no matter how much software you have to protect you against viruses, spyware, adware, worms, etc., there is nothing which can protect you 100%.  You MUST develop good surfing and email habits as your first line of defense.

Some important things to keep in mind:

Never open any email from anyone you don't know if anything at all looks suspicious, i.e.. spelling errors in the subject, mail from a foreign domain, mail with no subject, etc.

NEVER open any attachments which look suspicious or you don't think is relevant.

NEVER click on any links on Internet sites which you aren't sure are relevant to what you are doing.

ABSOLUTELY NEVER click on any pop ups telling you your computer is at risk, needs to be checked, or any message which is not from software you have installed on your computer.  If you do get a pop up message about anything, shut down all your programs immediately, then reboot the computer.

Never respond to any email asking for any personal information, or verification of information.  Scammers will mimic bank, Post Office, retailer web sites, virtually anything to make it look official.  Remember, these companies never ask for personal information via email.

Do not expect software to protect you.  Most successful attacks happen to people who expect their software to do everything for them.

Using common sense will protect you 99%.